- Free Netbook offer at TechEd Australia 2009
-
This is big news for those of you who are already or planning to register for TechEd 2009 this year. We are giving each paid delegate an HP 2140 Mini Notebook with Windows 7 pre-installed.
Click here for more details on the offer.
- Reminder – Windows 7 Beta Expiration
-
If you still have Windows 7 Beta please install Windows 7 Release Candidate soon! Starting July 1st the Windows 7 Beta will shut down every two hours.
- For Beta, bi-hourly shutdowns will begin July 1st, 2009. You will be alerted to install a released version of Windows and your PC will shut down automatically every 2 hours. On August 1st, 2009 if you are still on the Windows 7 Beta your license for the Windows 7 Beta will expire and the non-genuine experience is triggered where your wallpaper is removed and “This copy of Windows is not genuine” will be displayed in the lower right corner above the taskbar.
- For the RC, bi-hourly shutdowns will begin on March 1st, 2010. You will be alerted to install a released version of Windows and your PC will shut down automatically every 2 hours. On June 1st, 2010 if you are still on the Windows 7 RC your license for the Windows 7 RC will expire and the non-genuine experience is triggered where your wallpaper is removed and “This copy of Windows is not genuine” will be displayed in the lower right corner above the taskbar.
More info at the Windows Team Blog
- Live Meetings – Office 2007 Deployment Series
-
We have the following Office 2007 Deployment Live Meetings sessions happening in June.
Office 2007 Deployment Series - Session 1: Get Started with your Office Deployment
Event Overview
With Service Pack 2 recently made available, it is a good time to update your desktop software to take advantage of the productivity improvements, server integration and collaboration capabilities. In this session, learn about the best approaches to Office 2007 deployment. Understand how to get started on the deployment journey and the tools and resources available to you.
Language(s): English.
Product(s): 2007 Microsoft Office suites. Audience(s): IT Manager,IT Professional. Duration: 90 Minutes
Start Date: Tuesday, 9 June 2009 11:00 AM Australia (East)
Click here to Register
Office 2007 Deployment Series - Session 2: Office and Virtualisation
Event Overview
Application Virtualization solves many problems encountered in a traditional deployment. Mitigate application migration challenges by allowing users to run any version of Office without a maintenance overhead, reduce the amount of regression testing and stream Office to your users quickly through virtualization.
Language(s): English.
Product(s): 2007 Microsoft Office suites.
Audience(s): IT Manager,IT Professional.
Duration: 90 Minutes
Start Date: Tuesday, 16 June 2009 11:00 AM Australia (East)
Click here to Register
Office 2007 Deployment Series - Session 3: Office Training and Readiness
Event Overview
Office 2007 introduced a new user interface. In this session you will travel back to the early planning stages of Office 2007 and get a look at how and why this happened. But more importantly, learn the tools, techniques and approaches to accelerate adoption and reduce resistance to change and make your Office deployment successful.
Language(s): English.
Product(s): 2007 Microsoft Office suites.
Audience(s): IT Manager,IT Professional.
Duration: 90 Minutes
Start Date: Tuesday, 23 June 2009 11:00 AM Australia (East)
Click here to Register
- Live Meeting – Beyond the Compete Microsoft vs VMware
-
Event Overview
This session will focus on the key technologies within the Microsoft Product Family that address very real needs that any organisations adopting VWWare Technology has. We will focus on discussing how to manage VMWare and Hyper-V side by side.
Technologies covered include System Center Virtual Machine Manager, Windows Server 2008 R2
Beyond the compete - Microsoft vs VMware
Language(s): English.
Product(s): Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager,Windows Server 2008 R2.
Audience(s): IT Manager,IT Professional.
Duration: 90 Minutes
Start Date: Friday, 26 June 2009 11:00 AM Australia (East)
Speaker details
Amit Pawar has been with Microsoft Australia for nearly nine years in various roles from Support Engineer, Consultant to currently being the Technology Specialist for Windows Server and Virtualisation. Amit has been involved with many successful proof of concepts, pilots and production deployment of Microsoft virtualisation technologies in both enterprise and small medium business customers in Australia.
Click here to Register
- Live Meeting – Exchange 2010 The Future of Collaboration
-
Event Overview
The upcoming release of Exchange 2010 can help you achieve better business outcomes while controlling the costs of deployment, administration, and compliance. Exchange 2010 delivers the best end-user experience, the widest range of deployment options, integrated information leakage protection, and advanced compliance capabilities, that combine to form the best messaging and collaboration solution available. Learn more about it in this Live Meeting session.
Exchange 2010: The Future of Collaboration
Language(s): English.
Product(s): Microsoft Exchange Server 2010.
Audience(s): IT Manager,IT Professional.
Duration: 90 Minutes
Start Date: Friday, June 19, 2009 11:00 AM Australia (East)
Speaker Details
Johann Kruse is a National Technology Specialist for Microsoft Australia, based in Sydney. Johann’s areas of speciality include Unified Communications, VoIP, Exchange Server and Office Communications Server. Johann works with enterprise and government customers assisting with the development and design of messaging and Unified Communications platforms and strategies.
Johann has a UC blog at http://blogs.technet.com/jkruse and you can usually find out what’s he doing at http://twitter.com/whassaname
Click here to Register
- Live Meeting - Windows 7 Release Candidate – The Road to RTM – Changes since the Beta
-
Event Overview
The Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) features several changes and improvements since the Beta release in January. A lot of this was based on feedback we received directly from testers just like you! In this session, Jeff Alexander will take you through the changes in the Release Candidate including changes to the following technologies since the Windows 7 Beta: User Account Control, Bitlocker Drive Encryption, Direct Access, The Windows 7 Taskbar, Jump Lists, Aero Peek and a brand new virtualization feature called XP Mode!
Windows 7 Release Candidate - The Road to RTM - Changes since the Beta
Language(s): English.
Product(s): Windows 7.
Audience(s): IT Manager,IT Professional.
Duration: 90 Minutes
Start Date: Friday, June 12, 2009 11:00 AM Australia (East)
Speaker Details
Jeff Alexander is a IT Pro Evangelist for Microsoft and travels across Australia speaking to customers and partners about the latest technologies. Jeff can be seen speaking at Security events, TechEd and other recognised Industry Tech events. Jeff started as employee number 27 at Microsoft Australia and has been with the company for 21 years. Jeff’s blog is http://blogs.technet.com/jeffa36 and Twitter is http://www.twitter.com/jeffa36
If you have any questions prior to the event Twitter it with the hashtag #win7live
Click here to Register
- Windows 7 RC Loadfest – Brisbane Infrastructure Group
-
We had our first Windows 7 RC Loadfest up in Brissy this morning. Jeffa and Jorke hosted the Brisbane Infrastructure Group in the Microsoft Brisbane office.
Check out the Flickr Group Pool for the latest photos. There were quite a few different installation options including Windows Deployment Services (WDS) off Jorke’s Hyper-V host, USB bootable keys and DVDs. Average install time was around 25 minutes.
Remember we have more Loadfests happening around the country so make sure you come along.
Jeffa setting up
Happy IT Pro with his new Windows 7 RC Install
- Register for REMIX09
-
Do you know any designers, developers and Web professionals? let them know about REMIX09.
Ever since REMIX commenced it’s been a hit, with delegates returning each year to a sell out crowd. You know the Web is the future of commerce, education, and communication. REMIX is our way of helping you take it to the next level.
Now in it’s 3rd year, REMIX is the place to advance your web development and design skills, get in-depth exposure to exciting new Microsoft technologies, exchange ideas with fellow developers and designers, and meet the industry’s thought leaders.
At REMIX09 you can:
- Explore the next wave of ideas and opportunities in Web development and design.
- Get inspired by an impressive line-up of UX, design and development sessions.
- Connect with experts on a wide range of topics for one-on-one guidance and inspiration.
- Learn about the future of Silverlight™, Internet Explorer®, Expression, ASP.NET and other web technologies from Microsoft.
- Network with execs from Microsoft and hot interactive agencies.
REMIX09 is where you’ll find the best ideas, sessions, and people. To put yourself into the mix, book your tickets before they sell out.
Thursday 11 June 2009
Star City, Pyrmont
SAVE $AUD 100... Register Now & Secure your Seat!
Early Bird Registration (until 21 May): $AUD 199 incl. GST (Save $AUD100)
Standard Registration (after 21 May): $AUD 299 incl. GST
Who should attend?
REMIX09 draws together coders, strategists, information architects, visual designers, UX professionals and digital marketers WHO ALL SHARE AN INTEREST ON WHAT’S COMING NEXT ON THE WEB.
- Windows Server 2008 R2 Release Candidate ready for download
-
If you haven’t used all your bandwidth downloading all Windows 7 RC, Hyper-V 2008 R2 RC and Office 2007 SP2 then you should definitely download the recently launched Windows Server 2008 R2 Release Candidate.
Here are the top 10 IT Pro tasks made easier by Windows Server 2008 R2
#1 Migrating VMs Without Service Interruption
Live Migration leverages Windows Clustering Services and the Cluster Shared Volumes technology to transfer VMs in milliseconds. That means no dropped connections and a much more dynamic data center management environment. We’ve also added Live Migration features to System Center Virtual Machine Manager, including the ability to perform migrations based on policy. It’s a brave new virtual world.
#2 Branch File Access Performance Up; WAN Costs Down
Administrators can use BranchCache to track file access requests at the branch office, and the files can be cached there. Files can be retrieved from other branch office client PCs (a peer-to-peer caching model, known as distributed mode) or from a dedicated BranchCache server at the remote site (also called hosted mode). A central BranchCache server keeps track of both existing file requests and file updates to ensure all requests receive only the most current content.
#3 Self-adjusting Server and Data Center Power Management
First, there’s an exciting new feature called Core Parking. When this feature is enabled, Windows Server 2008 R2 will constantly monitor the various workloads running across multi-core server systems. If certain processor cores are under-utilized or unnecessary, Core Parking can set just those cores into sleep mode, thus saving significant power. If workloads suddenly increase, R2 can spin up dormant cores in a matter of milliseconds. So a server with 64 logical cores can drop to just a 4-core machine during low-utilization times and rev back up to full CPU power as soon as workloads increase.
In addition, Windows Server 2008 R2 enables administrators to design active power policies that can cause servers to ‘throttle-down’ during off-hours by using DMTF-compliant remote management interfaces.
#4 Remote Server Management
Windows Server 2008 R2 addresses this challenge with a Server Manager that can be installed on workstations and pointed at servers from afar. In addition, Server Manager has new management consoles devoted specifically to remote management tasks across all server roles.
#5 Squeeze the Most From Your Hardware
First, because it takes advantage of the last two years of 64-bit server CPU manufacturing, Windows Server 2008 R2 is the first Microsoft server operating system to take only the 64-bit road. Your 32-bit applications will continue to run flawlessly on R2, but the 64-bit operating system is much better designed to take advantage of those high-end server CPUs from AMD and Intel.
And more of them, too—with Windows Server 2008 R2 scaling up to address as many as 256 logical processors in a single server, and Hyper-V in R2 is able to use more than 32 logical processors in a single VM. That’s twice the CPU support of Hyper-V 1.0! R2 can also take advantage of advanced CPU features, including Second Level Translation for much-improved memory management. It all adds up to more server muscle for your data center dollar. When combined with the consolidation power of Hyper-V, it means R2 can make a significant dent in your annual IT spend.
#6 Do Better At Managing Virtual Data Centers
The new Hyper-V™ sports numerous improvements over the old, including support for both 32- and 64-bit VMs, larger memory support (up to 64GB per VM), pass through disk access, and new hardware sharing architectures for resources like disk, networking, and video. But Hyper-V™ hasn’t left managers out in the cold—it includes new consoles for Live Migration and high-availability clusters, support for WMI management extensibility, and day-to-day tools to make life easier such as Virtual Machine snapshots. And last (but definitely not least), Hyper-V™ also sports a host of new support from PowerShell 2.0 with a slew of new dedicated cmdlets.
#7 Create Customized and Automated Management Tools
PowerShell v2 carries improvements across the board with improved remote management via WS-Management, better security with features like constrained runspaces, extended scripting functionality, and even improved script portability via XML. You’ll find a new Graphical PowerShell that adds pro developer-class IDE features, including colored syntaxing and better debugging tools for building your own cmdlets. And lets not forget about the over 240 new cmdlets that ship with R2 right out of the box.
#8 Use Virtualization to Ease Desktop Management
The new Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) in Windows Server 2008 R2 figures largely in this vision, and builds on the solid presentation virtualization foundation we built into Windows Server 2008’s Terminal Services. With the advent of Window Server 2008 R2, this is now called Remote Desktop Services under which VDI encompases a centralized desktop delivery architecture that allows customers to centralize the storage, execution, and management of a Windows® desktop or application in the data center. This capability gives desktop and application administrators a whole new toolkit for better enablement of flexible work scenarios, including work-from-home and hot-desking as well as increased data security, compliance, and more efficient management of the desktop operating system and applications.
#9 Broaden Remote Access Adoption While Making it Easier to Manage
DirectAccess (DA) is a comprehensive anywhere access solution that enables organizations to provide always-on, secure connectivity to on-premise and remote users alike. It improves security and lowers total cost of ownership (TCO). DA eliminates the need to connect explicitly with the corporate network while roaming and provides organizations with the next generation of policy-based, secure connectivity. To end users, the concept of remote computing goes away because DA and Windows 7 combine to present them with an always-on connection to their corporate network whether they’re attached to a local, remote or even public network.
#10 Take Your Web and Application Serving To The Next Level
Overworked server administrators will appreciate the updated Web server, which includes features that streamline management by extending the functionality of IIS Manager to include new configuration modules, by implementing a new Windows PowerShell Provider and task-based cmdlets for IIS, and by offering support for .NET on Server Core—that means not just more application flexibility with ASP.NET now available on Server Core, but remote administration through IIS Manager and Server Manager as well. IIS 7.5 also integrates new support and troubleshooting features, including configuration logging and a dedicated Best Practice Analyzer, and integrates many of the more popular extensions for IIS, including updated versions of Secure FTP and WebDAV.
- Upcoming Windows 7 Release Candidate Loadfests around Australia
-
Here are some of the upcoming Windows 7 RC Loadfests around Australia. Ill update the list when we have more happening in and around your city. Bring your PC or MAC :)
12th May Update: Added Wollongong and Perth
13th May Update: Added Gold Coast
20th May Update: Added REMIX09
24th May Update: Added Adelaide
![win7_rc_install_19_thumb[7]](http://blogs.technet.com/blogfiles/itproaustralia/WindowsLiveWriter/UpcomingWindows7ReleaseCandidateLoadfest_89AE/win7_rc_install_19_thumb%5B7%5D_thumb.jpg "win7_rc_install_19_thumb[7]")
Adelaide
Adelaide University
Venue: Adelaide University, North Terrace Campus, Plaza 1064
When: Thursday 28th May
Time: 12pm to 6pm
Website: http://adelaidemsp.wordpress.com/
RSVP: email raymond.rebbeck@student-partners.com.au
Brisbane
Brisbane Infrastructure Group
Venue: Microsoft Brisbane, Level 9, 1 Eagle St, Waterfront Place
When: Tuesday 12th May
Time: Doors open just before 8.00am (its a morning session)
Website: http://www.aususergroups.org/Default.aspx?alias=www.aususergroups.org/big
RSVP: email bigau@live.com.au
Gold Coast
Griffith University
Venue: Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, G23 1.21
When: Thursday 28th May
Time: 9am till Lunch
Website: http://seancostain.spaces.live.com/
RSVP: email seancostain@student-partners.com.au
Sydney
REMIX09
Venue: Star City, Pyrmont
When: Thursday 11th June Windows 7 Stand
Time: All day
Website: http://www.microsoft.com/australia/remix/
Sydney Windows User Group
Venue: Microsoft Sydney, 1 Epping Rd, North Ryde
When: Wednesday 13th May
Time: Loadfest starts at 5.00pm
Website: http://www.windowsusergroup.com/
RSVP: email windowsusergroup@live.com
Melbourne
Deakin University
Venue: Deakin Univeristy Burwood Campus Room he1.0021
When: Thursday 4th June
Time: 5pm till late
Website: Deakinmsp.com
RSVP: elmarschippers@studnet-partners.com.au
Monash University
Venue: Monash University, Building 63, Level 1 Foyer
When: Thursday 4th June
Time: 1pm to 5pm
Website: http://www.monashmsp.com/
RSVP: (not required, but) email davidwarner@student-partners.com.au
Victoria .NET
Venue: Microsoft Melbourne, Level 5, 4 Freshwater Place, Southbank
When: Tuesday 12th May
Time: 5.30pm
Website: http://www.victoriadotnet.com.au/vic-victorianet-dev-sig-formed/vic-victorianet-dev-sig-events.aspx
RSVP: Turn up on the day!
Wollongong
UOW Computer Club
Venue: Building 3, University of Wollongong
When: Thursday 4th June (TBC)
Time: 18:30-21:30 onwards (Install Fest occurs between 8:30pm til late)
Website: http://www.uowmsp.com/blog
RSVP: email skd488@uow.edu.au or simply arrive on the day! (public welcome)
Perth
University of Western Australia
Venue: Weatherburn Lecture Theatre, at UWA's Crawley Campus.
When: Thursday May 14th 4pm
Time: 4pm, after most lectures.
Website: http://www.wamsp.com.au/2009/05/imagine-the-possibilities/
No RSVP required as we have seating for over 200 people.
- Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Release Candidate
-
Its all happening this week. Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Release Candidate is ready for download.
Microsoft® Hyper-V™ Server 2008 R2 is a stand-alone product that provides a reliable and optimized virtualization solution enabling organizations to improve server utilization and reduce costs. With the addition of new features such as live migration and expanded processor and memory support for host systems, it allows organizations to consolidate workloads onto a single physical server and is a good solution for organizations who are consolidating servers as well as for development and test environments.
By having the ability to plug into existing IT infrastructures Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 enables companies to reduce costs, improve utilization and provision new servers. It allows IT professionals to leverage existing patching, provisioning, management and support tools and processes. IT Professionals can continue to leverage their individual skills and the collective knowledge of Microsoft tools, minimizing the learning curve to manage Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2. In addition, with Microsoft providing comprehensive support for Microsoft applications and heterogeneous guest operating systems support, customers can virtualize with confidence and peace of mind.
Note: This is a pre-release version of Microsoft® Hyper-V™ Server 2008 R2 and not intended to be used in a production environment.
Click here for Technical Resources
- Download Windows 7 RC today
-
Welcome to Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) testing. We’re on our way to Windows 7, and the RC is a great opportunity for IT professionals like you to take Windows 7 and begin testing it in your real environment. You get to see what’s coming, and we get to see if our changes and fixes from the Beta testing are working correctly. We want to encourage you to install and actively test the RC code. This will help us ensure Windows 7 is the best possible release, and help you get ready for Windows 7 deployment.
Here’s what you need to know:
This is pre-release software, so please read the following to get an idea of the risks and key things you need to know before you try the RC.
- You don’t need to rush to get Windows 7 RC. The RC release will be available at least through June 2009 and we’re not limiting the number of product keys, so you have plenty of time.
- Watch the calendar. The RC will expire on July 1, 2010. Starting on March 1, 2010, your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Windows will notify you two weeks before the bi-hourly shutdowns start. To avoid interruption, you’ll need to install a non-expired version of Windows before March 1, 2010. You’ll also need to install the programs and data that you want to use. (Learn more about installing Windows).
- Protect your PC and data. Be sure to back up your data and please don’t test Windows 7 RC on your primary home or business PC.
- Technical details/updates: Before installing the RC please read the Release Notes, and Things to Know for important information about the release.
- Keep up with the news. You can keep up with general technical information and news by following the Springboard Series blog or Windows team blog. Want technical guidance, tips, and tools? Visit the Springboard Series on TechNet.
- Keep your PC updated: Be sure turn on automatic updates in Windows Update in case we publish updates for the RC.
- Microsoft Partners: Learn more about Windows 7 on the Microsoft Partner Portal.
Here’s what you need to have:
- Internet access (to download Windows 7 RC and get updates)
- A PC with these minimum recommended specifications:
- 1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor or higher
- 1 GB of system memory or more
- 16 GB of available disk space
- Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB memory (to enable the Aero theme)
- DVD-R/W Drive
Please note these specifications could change. And, some product features of Windows 7, such as the ability to watch and record live TV or navigation through the use of "touch," may require advanced or additional hardware.
Get the download
The 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 RC are available in five languages: English, German, Japanese, French, and Spanish. (Note: The RC version will not be available in Hindi or Arabic.) Just choose the version that fits the system you'll be using and pick your language to register for and download the RC.
Downloading the Windows 7 RC could take a few hours. The exact time will depend on your provider, bandwidth, and traffic. The good news is that once you start the download, you won't have to answer any more questions – you can walk away while it finishes. If your download gets interrupted, it will restart where it left off. See this FAQ for details.
- Windows 7 Release Candidate available to TechNet Plus and MSDN Subscribers
-
If you are a TechNet Plus or MSDN subscriber you can get your hands on Windows 7 Release Candidate today. If your not a subscriber then the Release Candidate will be made available to you on May 5th US time. I'm running Windows 7 Release Candidate x64 and loving it.
Please plan ahead for Windows 7 Beta and Windows 7 RC expiration dates. To avoid interruption, you’ll need to rebuild your test machine using a genuine version of Windows 7 before the software expires. Windows will remind you when the expiration process is beginning; two weeks after this notification your PC will begin shutting down every two hours.
- Windows 7 Beta expires on August 1, 2009, and bi-hourly shutdowns will begin July 1, 2009.
- Windows 7 RC will expire June 1, 2010, and the bi-hourly shutdowns will begin on March 1, 2010.
In both cases, you’ll need to rebuild your test PC to replace the operating system and reinstall all your programs and data.
Couple of things you should do after you install
- What's New in Active Directory for Windows Server 2008 R2 Live Meeting 15th May
-
Register for our next Live Meeting event which is on Friday 15th May at 11am.
Event Overview
Windows Server 2008 R2 delivers some highly anticipated features for Active Directory administrators. This session will provide an overview of the new features and also drill down on some of their aspects, which would enable you to better understand and evaluate their value. You will take away an understanding of AD Recycle Bin (easing recovery), Managed Service Accounts (easing Service Account lifecycle management), Authentication Assurance (enabling applications to authorize per two factor authentication), Offline Domain Join (easing large scale data center deployments), and the suite of manageability enhancing features like AD Power Shell, AD Best Practice Analyzer and AD Administrative Center.
Speaker – Philip Duff, Infrastructure Technical Specialist
Click here to register
- Office 2007 Service Pack 2 is ready for download
-
2007 Microsoft Office suite Service Pack 2 (SP2) gives customers the latest updates for the 2007 Office suite. This service pack includes two main categories of fixes:
- Previously unreleased fixes that were made specifically for this service pack.
- In addition to general product fixes, these fixes include improvements in stability, in performance, and in security.
- All the public updates, security updates, cumulative updates, and hotfixes that were released through February 2009.
It is available on Windows Update or you can download it through the Microsoft Download Center
Have a read through a description of the new 2007 Microsoft Office suite Service Pack 2 (SP2)
For those of you who will be deploying SP2 across your organisation please read the maintaining an Office Installation information on TechNet
